


Gauntlet

by Mithen



Category: DCU Animated
Genre: Humor, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-11
Updated: 2010-02-11
Packaged: 2017-10-07 04:39:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mithen/pseuds/Mithen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Control Freak zaps Superman into an 80s computer game and it's up to Batman to save him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gauntlet

"At last, I have the World's Finest at my mercy. Now all shall acknowledge the genius of..._Control Freak!_"

From out of the shadows of the abandoned video arcade loomed a chubby teen-ager with shaggy orange hair, wearing a trenchcoat. He was holding a remote in one hand but seemed otherwise unarmed.

Batman felt Superman relax out of a fighting position. "Young man," said Superman, "You've caused a great deal of trouble, pretending to be the Joker. Now, just come quietly and there won't be any trouble."

"Careful, Superman," warned Batman. "Robin's told me about this one, he can--"

Before he could finish speaking, the chortling teen pointed the remote at Superman and pressed a green button.

Superman disappeared in a flash of static.

An instant later, a batarang collided with the remote, knocking it from Control Freak's hands. "Owie, owie!" whined the villain, scrabbling for the remote. Surprisingly quickly, he rolled to catch it up again and pointed it at Batman. This time, however, clicking the button produced only a shower of sparks. "You broke it!" snarled Control Freak, shaking it vigorously. He pointed it at himself and pressed the button one more time.

This time, both villain and remote disappeared in the same burst of static, leaving Batman alone in the silent, dark arcade.

"Superman?" He stared around, alert to any attack, but nothing happened at all.

Then a burst of light and music from one of the video games, the console rocking slightly. **"Welcome,**" intoned a computerized voice.

Batman cautiously moved closer to the machine. The thing was an antique, the graphics crude eight-bit cartoons. The scrolling screen revealed a top-down view of a dungeon maze of some sort, and in that dungeon...

Batman bit down a muffled curse. The little blue-and-red eight-bit sprite moved back and forth on the screen as if pacing. "Superman?"

The sprite ran over a little picture of a chest with jewels in it. **"Treasure, one hundred points**," droned the computer.

"Superman, can you hear me?"

As Batman stared at the computer screen, another sprite appeared next to Superman. This one was all in black. Batman grabbed the joystick and found that he could move the sprite around. Pressing a button lobbed tiny black triangles across the screen. The little black triangles hit what looked like plate of food. **"Don't shoot the food,"** chastised the computer.

He knew this game. He'd seen Dick playing it on the computer--furtively, when he thought Bruce wasn't looking--teaming up with a long-distance Barbara. _Gauntlet_, that was its name. The remote must have zapped Superman into the game, but when broken was unable to connect Batman to his sprite. He ran his little Batman avatar back and forth in front of the tiny Superman, wondering if there was any way to communicate.

Then the Superman icon moved and opened up a door, releasing a horde of angry little eight-bit ghosts, and Batman didn't have time to think any more.

There was an alarming chorus of canned sounds as Superman got attacked by the ghosts: _"Ooh. Ow. Ouch! Ow."_ The numbers for Superman's health were dropping. Batman released a barrage of tiny digital batarangs and the ghosts _poofed_ out of existence. Then Superman was sailing away through the maze and Batman whacked on the joystick, trying to keep up with him. To his alarm, he realized that their health was dropping even though they weren't fighting at all. That hardly seemed fair.

Superman ran over a plate of food and his health jumped a little bit, but not much. Another throng of ghosts attacked, and both sprites announced _"Ooh. Ow. Ouch!"_ in tones that would be amusing if Superman weren't trapped in the game.

**"Superman needs food, badly,"** the computer announced.

"Right," muttered Batman. "Hold on." He led Superman to another plate.

He quickly figured out his sprite was better with distance attacks, while Superman's was more of a warrior-type. Together they moved through the seemingly endless maze, fighting demons and ghosts. Batman found himself wincing with every tinny _"Ouch!"_ from Superman.

**"Superman needs food, badly,"** the computer reminded him.

"I know that," growled Batman.

**"Superman needs food, badly,"** it said again.

Batman felt his teeth grinding as he grabbed the joystick so hard his knuckles hurt. _"I know that."_

**"Superman, your life force is running out,**" noted the computer. Was that a sadistic edge to the mechanical voice, or was Batman just imagining it?

"I'm aware of that, you spiteful pile of circuitry!" Batman was briefly tempted to pound the console, but didn't want to risk knocking it out of order. Sweat tickled his brows.

There! A plate of food! He ran his sprite over to it. Superman followed--then just stood there, staring at the Batman avatar over the plate of food.

Batman glanced at his own health. Damnit! He hadn't noticed his was running low too. Of course Clark would never use the food if Batman's health was lower than his. "Stupid, arrogant, messiah-complex martyr," Batman snarled as he ran over the food and jumped his own health and then went looking for more.

They continued through the dungeon together, Batman doing his best to keep the monsters from touching Superman with a hail of eight-bit batarangs, trying to keep Superman's health up.

**"Superman is about to die!"** the computer announced at one point and Batman growled wordlessly, a frustrated sound with an edge of desperation. He couldn't let Clark die--"Especially in such a damn stupid fashion," he muttered, spotting another plate of food and leading the little red-and-blue sprite over to it. "Hold on, Superman," he murmured. "We'll get you out of here."

**"Superman needs food, badly,"** the computer noted smugly, and Batman snarled a word he would have chastised Dick for using.

The winding corridors of the dungeon seemed endless. Batman glanced down at the joystick. Was it getting warmer, or was that his imagination? The machine itself seemed to be humming and rocking a bit. The little avatars disappeared down an exit into a new level...

...and found themselves confronted with a pixellated version of Control Freak himself, his tiny teeth bared as he prepared to stomp on the sprites. Dramatic computerized fight music blared from the speakers and the video game machine began to rattle until it was hard to see the screen. It wasn't his imagination, the joystick was uncomfortably warm to the touch now, and getting warmer as he ran the digital Batman around, showering tiny batarangs down on the villain's head. _"Ohh! Ow! Ugh!"_ cried the Superman sprite as it slugged the image of Control Freak.

**"Superman, your life force is running out!"**

"Stop lecturing me, you junkheap reject!" There was a smell of scorched leather in the air, and the machine was almost skittering across the floor; Batman clung to it with a death-grip and continued to pound on the "fire" button.

And then finally, a punch/batarang combo from the two superheroes on the screen reduced Control Freak's health to zero. Triumphant MIDI music squealed as the villain raised his minuscule arms in Godzilla-like rage and collapsed into a heap. There was a flash of light and a shower of sparks; Batman felt a jolt of electricity rattle his bones before he was tossed across the room to land like a cat on an old Pac-Man console.

The Gauntlet machine was melting into slag. Batman noted this with some satisfaction at the same moment he spotted the two figures sprawled on the ground near it.

Control Freak reached blearily for his remote, his fingers almost brushing the case just before Batman's boot crunched it into smithereens. "Oh no you don't," Batman said. He couldn't resist adding, "Game over, Control Freak," before he punched the villain hard and left him unconscious on the ground.

The other figure was stirring and moaning. Batman crouched beside him and took his hand--to check his pulse, of course. He was still holding Superman's wrist lightly when his eyes opened and fixed on Batman. "That was...very strange," Superman said groggily.

"Welcome back," Batman said.

A weak chuckle. "I don't think I'll be playing computer games for a while." Superman sighed and smiled up at Batman, his fingers curling around the scorched black glove. "Oh," he said as he registered the burnt leather.

"I'm fine," said Bruce gruffly. He stripped off one of the gloves to show his unmarked palms. "Good insulation."

Clark lightly traced Bruce's lifeline for a moment, not meeting his eyes. "Thank you. Even when things got totally out of hand, I could tell you were there beside me, calm and composed as ever. No craziness ever rattles the Batman."

Batman cleared his throat. He slipped an arm under Superman's shoulder. "Let's get out of here," he said.

Together the pair made their way to the door of the arcade.

Batman hoped Superman didn't notice the small, vindictive kick he gave the remains of the Gauntlet machine as they went by.


End file.
